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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

In 2015, Superman will
battle Batman in Warner Brothers’ untitled Superman/Batman movie. But this
summer, the Wolverine beat Superman in the battle of the summer superhero
movies. (Iron Man 3 was the first
week of May.) Unlike The Man of Steel,
the fights are interesting and don’t go on forever.

That said, Wolverine is still not a great movie.
Hugh Jackman shines star power in this iconic role and the Wolverine
is one of the best comic book heroes, so I’m not sure why this isn’t a better
script or convincing total production. But unlike 2009′s bland X-Men Origins: Wolverine,
at least they are trying.

For starters, the
creators find a good location and stay there (Hurray!). And they find a look,
pace and story that hints on a good niche for this character; I’d call it
superhero noir.

The film is just good
enough and keeps clawing it’s way out of tedium, but the first-rate train scene
makes you think about the great movie that it had potential to be. If only every
action scene was as thrilling and inventive as that.

Simply
put:Better than the first one, and showing
some promise…but still not as super as any of the entries in the Iron Man or TheDark Knight series.

Award
potential:Potential for special effects.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks
just for the first-rate train scene. You can leave after that.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen's compelling new film, is about a woman (Cate Blanchett) on
the verge of a nervous breakdown. In his 48th film, Allen touches on
hot button topics ranging from class disparity to mental
disorder. And it’s a gem.

This film is good enough to end the
discussion about whether Woody Allen’s work is on a downhill trajectory. It is
definitely not. It’s more precisely a late career of wins and misses. And this
is a solid win on par with his recent films Matchpoint
and Midnight In Paris.

But enough about Allen, Blanchett’s tragic
Jasmine is one of the most memorable characters on film in my lifetime. She’s
in almost every captivating scene. And her film is a first-class treat.

Friday, August 2, 2013

"This is the place where dreams are made or destroyed, depends on how you feel about working at a water park."

Owen (Sam Rockwall) is
the freewheeling, charismatic owner of Water Wizz, the amusement park where 14-year old Duncan (Liam
James) finds a summer job, in the coming of age story of Duncan's summer
vacation with his mother, Pam (Toni Collette) and her overbearing boyfriend, Trent
(Steve Carell). It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a charming film
about a summer vacation.

The setup is formulaic
but luckily the film, written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants), is done with enough
skill and delicacy that the familiarity is more comforting than limiting.

The only fault? This
script, featuring a wood-paneled station wagon, a Pac Man game and references to songs by REO
Speedwagon, Mr. Mister and Bonnie Tyler from the Footloose soundtrack, was obviously meant as a timepiece film — but
it’s set in modern times. No one has a cell phone in the movie — and the kids
get busted for not “leaving notes”. Distracting? Yes. More charming for it? You’re
forgiven.

Simply put:A
touching, funny and smart cross between Meatballs
and Little Miss Sunshine. This is
way, way the best movie of the summer.

Award
potential:Lots of Golden Globe potential for Best Movie
(Comedy) and Supporting Actors noms could deservedly go to both Sam Rockwall
and Allison Janney, who
plays an alcoholic neighbor with just the right amount of zaniness. Wild card for Oscar Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.